TORONTO (Ticker) -- There appears to be no end in sight for the
nightmare that has become the Washington Wizards' season.

Vince Carter scored 26 points, helping the Toronto Raptors roll
to a 101-79 victory over the hapless Wizards, who were barely
competitive in their ninth straight loss.

"Our intensity is there and tonight, we played four quarters of
basketball, instead of two," Carter said. "We can play better
and right now, we're trying to win no matter how it looks."

It was the 1,200th career triumph for Toronto coach Lenny
Wilkens, the winningest coach in NBA history.

"I didn't realize it was my 1,200th victory until one of the
guys mentioned it today at shootaround," said Wilkens, who also
has 1,000 losses in 28 years as an NBA coach. "It's not on my
mind. The team winning comes first."

Washington led in the first three minutes but the Raptors opened
a 27-18 advantage after the first quarter and were never
threatened thereafter.

They led by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter before
falling short of their most lopsided win of the season, a 105-75
rout of Boston on November 7. Washington scored the game's last
seven points.

Former Wizard Tracy Murray scored 16 points and rookie Morris
Peterson added 11 for the Raptors, who have won five of their
last six to move two games over .500 for the first time since
December 20. Toronto was coming off a 98-91 victory at San
Antonio on Wednesday.

"We are just trying to keep it going here and get on a winning
streak," Murray said. "I was trying to run the floor and get in
position to receive the ball. We took advantage of mismatches
tonight."

The Wizards, who have the NBA's longest current losing streak,
reached the midpoint of the season with just seven victories,
putting them on pace to surpass 60 losses for the first time
since going 21-61 in 1994-95.

"It's a mental drain to lose, no matter what," said Juwan
Howard, who led the Wizards with just 14 points. "It hurts,
especially when you're a competitor. I have a lot of respect for
the guys we have in this locker room. We can't make any
excuses, no matter what. You've got to lay it out on the line."

Felipe Lopez added 13 for Washington, which also lost its 10th
straight road game. Four of the Wizards' wins this season have
come away from home.

"We have 40 more games to go," Washington forward Richard
Hamilton said. "We have to dig deep and stay positive."

Toronto shot 51 percent (39-of-76) from the field while holding
Washington to just 38.5 percent (30-of-78). The Raptors also had
a 36-15 edge in fast-break points, taking advantage of 23
Wizards' turnovers.

"Our defense stepped up and made some plays tonight," Peterson
said. "We have to play hard and win at home because anything can
happen on the road."

"Vince will have great nights but he knows you need a good
supporting cast," Murray added. "Every win is a total team
effort."

After falling behind 53-37 at halftime, the Wizards stayed
within striking distance in the second half, closing to 74-59 on
Gerard King's layup with 11:35 remaining.

But the Raptors ripped off a 19-4 run, building a 93-63 cushion
on Murray's jumper with 5:07 to go.

"Coach warned us about taking a team like Washington lightly
because on any given night, they can step up," Peterson said.